Tag Archives: grammy

By Bob Marovich This year’s Stellar Awards Song of the Year went to “You Deserve It.” Written by David Bloom and co-authored by Bishop Cortez Vaughn, Demond Reed, and JJ Hairston, the song also received a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Performance/Song. Bloom explained to the Journal of Gospel Music how the song was birthed. * * * I was first exposed to gospel music as a child. My parents were pastors, so as soon as I was born and we left the hospital, we went straight to church! My mom was a musician and a praise and worship singer. ...

By Bob Marovich While CeCe Winans was racking up Grammy Awards for Let Them Fall in Love, her 2017 album with the retro-looking cover, her brother and erstwhile singing partner BeBe Winans was promoting his new single, “He Promised Me.” Co-produced by Daniel Weatherspoon and featuring sister act Tobbi & Tommi and emerging soloist Kiandra (Richardson), “He Promised Me” is a song about binding what God has promised He will do with what we must believe. The ladies provide the response to BeBe’s call, their collective voices building to crescendos and then falling back obediently into place. The singular melody line feels like it ...

By Bob Marovich In 1998, Damon Williams eagerly purchased a copy of the first-ever WOW Gospel two-CD compilation. “It was a big moment in gospel music,” Williams, who was recently named Vice President of Marketing for RCA Inspiration, shared with the Journal of Gospel Music. “To find something that had the year’s best gospel songs all in one place, by the top artists, was extremely appealing to me as a consumer and a burgeoning industry executive.” On the 20th anniversary of the best-selling franchise, the 2-CD WOW Gospel 2018 hits stores today. While it will be Williams’ first time working ...

From a press release: A week after the death of four-time Grammy® Award-winning recording artist, Edwin Hawkins, The Edwin Hawkins Singers’ 1969 million-seller, “Oh Happy Day,” has charted at #1 on Billboard Magazine’s Gospel Digital Song Sales chart for the issue week ending January 27, 2018. The classic song had a 999% sales increase following worldwide news coverage of the celebrated artist’s passing from cancer last week and it also amassed over 173,000 streams during the same period. In recent months, Hawkins and his management team had begun to plan activities surrounding the 50th anniversary of “Oh Happy Day” which was ...

“Changed” Endurance feat. Joe Ligon SCCME (release date: January, 2017) www.musicbyendurance.com By Bob Marovich A few years ago, Houston’s Endurance quartet asked Joe Ligon, the legendary lead singer of the Mighty Clouds of Joy, to join them on “Changed” (not the Hawkins classic) and tell everyone about the life transforming properties of salvation. Ligon accepted. On “Changed,” he and Endurance’s Michael Robertson first trade leads and then sing to one another like two deacons so engaged in a praise conversation that they are oblivious to the congregation. “Joe, I know what you are singing about,” Robertson shouts in full quartet growl. “It’s ...

By Bob Marovich Rome wasn’t built in a day. The world took a little more time to create. Some music albums take many months to produce. Not Le’Andria Johnson’s latest album, Bigger Than Me. She told JGM it took less than a week. “We were just sitting in a creative space, [producers] Claude Kelly, Chuck Harmony, and myself,” Johnson explained, “and we were talking about life’s struggles and life’s difficulties.” The discussion naturally led to a conversation about God and how He’s bigger than any problem. Eureka moment. Bigger Than Me. “That matches us perfectly,” she said. “We did every song ...

By Bob Marovich Relaxing on the tour bus after a concert, Lamont Sanders could still hear the shouts of “Encore!” from tens of thousands of audience members echoing in his mind. The Bible says your gift will make room for you, Sanders reflected, and it had. He had signed with Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Andre Harrell. His R&B group was performing to adoring fans, just like tonight. It had recorded an album that would soon be released. Life was good. Then he felt a presence in the seat next to him. A voice spoke: “That feels good, huh? They’re screaming ...

Riverside SDA Church The Riverside Project – Music & Devotion G.Favored Entertainment Group/DREAM Gospel/ Capitol Christian Distribution www.RiversideNashville.org By Bob Marovich While gospel music is most often associated with Baptist and Pentecostal/Holiness churches, the Black Seventh Day Adventist Church, as just about all African American denominations by this point, has embraced the rhythm of gospel music. Riverside SDA in Nashville is no different. Founded in 1945, the church has grown from 26 members to a congregation that fills a sizable sanctuary on the banks of the Cumberland River. The Riverside Project – Music & Devotion is a two-CD set that offers a hefty ...

Gospel Music Legend and Former BMI Trailblazer Award Recipient Yolanda Adams to Co-Host with Gospel Singer-Songwriter VaShawn Mitchell NEW YORK, November 28, 2016 – Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) will honor gospel music superstars Kim Burrell and Marvin Sapp at the 18th annual BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Honors at the Rialto Center for the Arts in Atlanta, GA on January 14, 2017. This inspirational event will pay tribute to the very best of the gospel music community with former Trailblazers award recipient Yolanda Adams returning to the stage as host alongside gospel singer-songwriter VaShawn Mitchell. The invitation-only event, which is ...

“In Due Season” Jennifer Myles (2016) www.cdbaby.com/cd/jennifermyles2 Bronx-born Jennifer Myles and her team of musicians and singers tear it up on her debut single, “In Due Season.” Fueled by a frenetic pace, “In Due Season” is a romping reminder that although we may wait for our breakthrough for what seems like a lifetime, make no mistake: it is on its way. He will. She’s a witness. Now living in Decatur, Georgia, and assisting the Beulah Missionary Baptist Church music ministry, Myles has served as background vocalist for a parade of popular gospel artists. She is now intent on developing her ...